All that time
by Culinary
Summary: A fiction set in years past the mannga as of now. What if all your life you had been dreaming. And you devoted everything to that dream, but in the end you got nothing?


Title: **All that time**

Author: **Culinary**

A kind of "What if?" fiction. I kind of like the idea of Sasuke as a Hokage. I don't know.

* * *

What if all your life you had been dreaming. And you devoted everything to that dream, but in the end you got nothing?

How could they let him have it? I was supposed to take it for myself.

Naruto stood on the edge of the boundary between fire country and it's neighbor, staring lazily down the legendary river that two ninjas were said to have created. It was sunny, not a cloud in sight. Naruto only felt worse, somehow he wanted the sky and nature to grieve with him. He had failed.

_Failed._

Everything that his life had stood for, his "Code of the Ninja" was thrown down the drain and he watched it as it joined the feces of despairs that plagued everyone's mind. His feet and hands were horribly blistered from the journey, even thought they were starting to heal nicely. A burn on his left cheek had refused to give in to the Kyuubi's healing energy. He was kind of glad at that fact though, it distracted him from what had brought him here in the first place.

Remembering what had happened years earlier was like looking through an old ships cabin window. The images were hazy. He could remember the key points though. The council of elders lead by the new leader, Kakashi, had made a new announcement. A new Hokage was going to be named. Naruto was filled with ecstasy, the whole village could tell. Rumors among the highest ranked ninja's put him in first place for nomination. I mean, he had saved the village from a sand monster and had rescued a crucial allies leader, Subaku Gaara. Why wouldn't they let him be their leader? Plus with numerous rank A and S missions under his belt, the numbers sure fit the bill.

The weeks went by and the deliberating began. One of the names in the hat was Nara Shikamaru, a up-tight but great leader and Hatake Kakashi, the notorious copy ninja. The choice seemed be simple, the copy ninja was known throughout the world as one of the greatest ninja's in Konoha.

But he had declined. Preferring to become one the grand council. He had said they always made things get done in Konoha.

Nara Shikamaru also had declined the honor, saying that the endeavor was too troublesome for his liking. Then the name of the demon traitor had been thrown into the circle.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Kakashi had said calmly. The single name had brought a distinctive awe across the room. Naruto was their and remembered that he had dropped his jaw so hard that he thought it unhinged. One of the older council members had stepped up at this point, revealing the thought everybody had on their mind.

"Hatake Kakashi. You believe, that the traitor of Konoha, a former missing-nin, and the 'former' right hand man of Orichimaru could be the Hokage of this village? How dare you even throw out something like that, it's a spectacularly ludicrous idea." He said with confidence. The room nodded in agreement.

"It should be Uzumeki Naruto who gets the title!" Another official blurted. Naruto screamed a silent "Yes!" and it took all of him to keep it contained. Most of the crowd yelled approvals in response, but Kakashi had remained silent.

"Uzumeki is a fine choice!"

"The numbers all prove it!"

"Give the boy a chance!"

Kakashi looked down at his feet and took a deep breath. Raising his hand for silence, he stood up and took the floor. Even though he was by far the youngest of the group, he held a tremendous amount of influence. He, as a child, had accomplished more than most of the geezers in the room and he knew it, so he always had used it to his advantage.

"Uchiha Sasuke is an excellent candidate. If you listen to me, you'll see why." As Kakashi went down the list, Naruto's demeanor had gone sullen. He could already see the faces of the council members straining in confusion of the statements. Were they considering letting that filthy traitor back into their good graces that easily?

Naruto retreated out of his memories and back into the present time. He retreated back to a cave behind the waterfall that marked the start of the river and laid down on the stone cold floor. This place had been his home for the last few days and he barely had anyone to talk to. He didn't venture there alone, but his partner in crime was usually out scouting the area. Small footsteps began to sound and Naruto listened carefully.

"We need to go." Itachi said, waiting just outside. His voice was placid, just like always, and his eyes gave nothing to what he was thinking. They were sent by the higher echelons of Akatsuki on a retrieval mission. Some scroll or something, Naruto didn't pay attention.

"Why do we have to leave so soon? I was beginning to like this place. I mean with some nice paint, we could make a lovely abode out of it." Naruto said sarcastically as he moved toward the exit.

"Don't call me that again. I would prefer if you would call me Itachi-sama. I am your superior, and as such, you will treat me that way."

"Ok, Itachi-**chan**! I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He added quickly when he saw a kunai gripped tightly in the Uchiha's hand. The last time he made fun of Itachi, it wasn't a pretty sight. Naruto's butt still hurt. Kakashi wasn't the only master of the "Thousand years of Pain."

"I ran into a border patrol about 3 kilometers east of here. They weren't hard to defeat, but one of them escaped. I managed to snatch his headband. I think you know that this will complicate matters...greatly." He reached into his coat and pulled out the headband.

Naruto took a quick glance at the ragged forehead protector and smiled. "At least we'll get to have some fun." Itachi looked at his new partner and sighed.

"Baka. This means we **will** get detected and have no choice but to fight. That wasn't part of the original plan."

"I know, but I probably would of gotten us detected anyway. This way, at least we are prepared." And with that, the two speed off in haste to there destination.

Konoha.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke sat amongst mounds of papers and idly read each one of them. Hokage was hard work. He had been in the spot for almost five hours without a break. They were all meaningless as well. New laws to be passed, punishments to be handed out. He thought being the most powerful and influential ninja in the village would ease his workload just a little, but training with Kakashi-sama was better than this crap. He looked around the room and closed the blinds behind him. A second glance confirmed that the room was empty and the young Uchiha pulled out his new Game-portable.

"Working hard I see." A familiar voice said from behind him.

"Kakashi-sama, I didn't see you walk in."

"Aye, you were too involved in your...work." The Jounin cracked a smile under his mask while Sasuke hid the game from sight.

"So..." He said as he regained he composure. "Your back from your mission. How did it go?"

"Perfect. No detection at all." Kakashi settled in to a chair in front of the desk. He was garbed in traditional Jounin attire, but his age was beginning to show it's ugly face on his. "It's not like you slack off Sasuke. What happened to your gung-ho attitude toward this job?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it gung-go Kakashi-sama, you really forced me into this job."

"Well, you didn't decline...much." He added with a wink. Sasuke actually dragged his sensei through hell and back before he accepted, but Kakashi didn't want to dwell on that. "You don't like your new position."

"It's nothing. Just more paperwork than I'm used to."

"I was thinking you would like it more back then. When you first got this job." Sasuke winced at the mention of it. He hadn't spent one moment without thinking about that day.

"Nothing would ever want me to relive it. I would give anything in this world not to even think about it. Please, refrain from mention it."

"You can't avoid it because it looks like we might all relive it. I've come upon some information." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "It looks like Akatsuki is on the move again. I don't know why or where, but they are definitely planning something." Sasuke said nothing, but kept his gaze on the silver haired ninja. "Also, it seems they have a new member. No clues on who it is though."

Sasuke features softened. "We can't worry about that right now. If it comes into Konoha walls, then it's my problem. We aren't supposed to govern the whole world."

"Hokage-sama!" The door behind them slammed open and a gasping ANBU captain limped in. Before he got halfway to the desk, he collapsed, but Kakashi was there before he fell and lowered him to the floor gently. "Hokage-sama."

"What happened?" Sasuke said as he rushed over to the wounded soldier. His clothes were tattered and bloodstained. His ankle was twisted in the wrong place and blood streamed off of the side of his mouth gently. "What the hell happened?" Sasuke asked again.

"A guy. We were on border patrol. We saw him. He was wearing that coat." He words came out feverishly and he continued to spit up blood at regular intervals. "Red and black. Akat..." He couldn't speak anymore, but pointed to the closed window. Sasuke open it and gazed outside. In an instant he knew what the young man had been trying to say.

"Kakashi, get him to the medical ward." The ninja bolted out the door with the injured ANBU on his back. Sasuke stared out the window and looked towards the sky. It seemed that Akatsuki was his business now.

* * *

It's been a long time since I wrote something, so I decided to throw something together. I think it's a little sloppy. If you review, I'll write more. If you don't then obviously it means you don't like it. So then it's off to another story. 


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